The material on this site can not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Multiply. After only two weeks, Johnson was transferred from the African American computing pool to Langley's flight research division, where she talked her way into meetings and earned additional responsibilities. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It was also

Early in her career, she was called a “computer.” She helped NASA put an astronaut into orbit around Earth. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katherine-Johnson-mathematician, The HistoryMakers - Biography of Katherine G. Johnson, West Virginia University - Alumni Association - Katherine Johnson, Katherine Johnson - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Katherine Johnson - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. "Early on, when they said they wanted the capsule to come down at a certain place, they were trying to compute when it should start. A film based on the book was also released in 2016. Corrections? What are the release dates for The Wonder Pets - 2006 Save the Ladybug? She passed away on February 24, 2020, at the age of 101. At NASA Johnson was a member of the Space Task Group. One particularly engaged professor was Dr. William W. Schieffelin Claytor, the third African American to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, who was determined to prepare Johnson to become a research mathematician. Johnson enrolled at West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University) in Institute, West Virginia, where she encountered a hands-on faculty. Johnson, her family and friends were at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building which is part of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. He died in 1956, and three years later she married James Johnson. Johnson was also part of the team that calculated where and when to launch the rocket for the Apollo 11 mission of 1969, which sent the first three men to the Moon. Johnson also played an important role in NASA’s Mercury program (1961–63) of crewed spaceflights.

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In November 2015, President Barack Obama presented Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. and to the moon in 1969.

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“We’re here to honor the legacy of one of the most admired and inspirational people ever associated with NASA,” Langley Director David Bowles said in a press release. We strive for accuracy and fairness. That changed in 1958 when NACA was incorporated into the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which banned segregation.